How Amphibious Excavators Enhance Wetland Dredging

When working in swamps, marshes, and other wet environments, nothing beats the versatility of the amphibious undercarriage for your excavators.

What is an Amphibious Excavator?

An amphibious excavator is a type of excavator that is outfitted with sealed pontoons that allows it to perform dredging while afloat in shallow waters. The pontoons are constructed from high tensile steel and are corrosion and seawater resistant. This ensures the excavator can operate in the most demanding of conditions. These excavators are completely self-propelled using a hydraulic direct drive track system.

Amphibious excavator dredge undercarriages are among the newer innovations in the world of industrial equipment. These excavators capable of operating in the tough wetlands found worldwide, especially in North America and Europe. Historically, engineers would have to figure out ways to create solid ground for these machines by constructing roads or bringing in barges through canals. In an effort to reduce these overhead costs involved with wetland industrial pump applications, engineers developed the amphibious undercarriage. The amphibious undercarriage can be fitted to excavators and other heavy equipment, granting them buoyancy and the ability to work in wet environments without the need for additional construction.

Amphibious equipment modifications are ideal for safely transporting workers and equipment to job sites over a terrain that is too soft to walk on and too dense to float. Previously, these industrial projects would require workers to build canals, roads, or platforms prior to operating heavy equipment in swamps and marshlands. Not only was this process time consuming, but also very expensive and potentially damaging to the local environment. However, these roads and canals were necessary to support loads of large machinery on soft or wet grounds. With the support of amphibious excavators, many steps can be eliminated by driving the machinery directly to the work site.

Amphibious Excavator Features

The noticeable main features of the amphibious undercarriage are the fact that it can provide buoyancy through hermetically sealed pontoons. The pontoons, which are extendable, allowing the excavator to float on water with an option to mount vertical spuds in the event there is no reliable land to operate from. Movement is accomplished through the track chain which uses a multi-synchronous hydraulic drive system. The track chain also helps aid with floatation, provides a higher level of tractive efficiency and stability over a wider range of soil conditions. The excavator also has the ability to mount a variety of different attachments, including the excavator dredge pump. This versatility allows operators to perform a wide range of tasks for different industrial applications.

Industrial Applications

Common sense suggests that amphibious equipment is only useful in the south around the vast wetlands, but there are many scenarios which could effectively employ the use of amphibious equipment. Projects around ocean shores, river beds, and recent floods are all great areas to use amphibious equipment to save on costs. Amphibious equipment can efficiently perform in a wide array of applications including flood and disaster recovery efforts, dredging, environmental remediation, and various construction projects such as laying pipelines, levees, or highways.

Amphibious equipment is also the best option for environmental dredging. Dredging is often hindered by shallow water depths because excavators can easily get stuck or have limited range. Since amphibious equipment can both float in water and drive on land, the operator does not have to worry about getting too close or too far from the water’s edge. The wide tracks and a low weight results in little ground pressure while heavier equipment creates deep track ruts. Additionally, the ability to mount a dredge pump directly to the excavator allows for optimal movement and production rates.

EDDY Pump Excavator Attachment

With the EDDY Pump Excavator Attachment, you can efficiently dredge and pump large solids without clogging the pump. The EDDY Pump is a patented revolutionary pump technology that has a design that makes it completely different from any centrifugal, vortex or positive displacement pump on the market. The EDDY Pump does not have an impeller but is instead equipped with a geometrically shaped rotor that creates a vortex at the suction side. This vortex effectively agitates the material before it is pumped.

When working in swamps, marshes, and other wet environments, nothing beats the versatility of the amphibious undercarriage for your excavators. Not only will these modifications save you on costs, but will also help to increase total production in nearly all applications. Combined with the EDDY Pump Attachment, you can turn your excavator into an agile dredging powerhouse, capable of handling any environment and material you can throw at it.